Hurricane Katrina Memorial - New Orleans, Louisiana - Disaster Memorials on Waymarking.com

Katrina dead interred at new memorial
By Laura Maggi NOLA.com
August 29, 2008, 10:17AM

Seven people who died during Hurricane Katrina were interred Friday morning in one of six mausoleums created to hold the remains of those who were not identified after the storm or whose families did not claim them.

City officials, including Mayor Ray Nagin and several members of the City Council, helped lay the caskets to rest, saying brief words after the last casket was placed into the granite-faced tomb.

"This represents the final bodies from Katrina, the last unknown victim of Katrina," Nagin said. "This represents the pain and suffering."
The tombs, constructed over the summer, were built at the site of the former Charity Hospital Cemetery. Work was still going on Thursday night, as officials prepared for today's ceremony. Seventy-four people were interred yesterday.

In the following ceremony, city officials played tribute to both survivors of the storm, as well as those who perished in the flood waters three years ago or waiting for rescue in the days after the city was swamped. They also noted the looming threat in the Gulf of Mexico and the potential for Hurricane Gustav to once again test New Orleans.
Nagin, Congressman William Jefferson and retired General Russel Honore rang three bells at 9:38 a.m., the time of the first levee break. People in the audience of the ceremony simultaneously rang hand bells.

From the LSU Hospitals Website:

The New Orleans Katrina Memorial incorporates the curves of the Hurricane and the meditative quality of a labyrinth.
Paths lined with mausoleums and memorial plaques spiral into the inner section of the site. In the center, the eye of the Hurricane is marked by a bronze sculpture of angels holding a fleur de lis, symbolic of the rebuilding of the great city of New Orleans.
The two outer six-foot walkways are lined with three 21-crypt mausoleums for a total of six mausoleums to accommodate the remains of 126 unidentified and unclaimed victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The inner path consists of two, six-foot wide paths running parallel. Dividing each path are rows of 12 granite monoliths upon which 8” x 10” bronze memorialization plaques are mounted. There are 18 plaques on each side for a total of 964 memorialization plaques.

Under Louisiana law, the Coroner of a parish is responsible for the interment of the unclaimed and unidentified decedents. Dr. Frank Minyard, Coroner of Orleans Parish, is responsible for all Hurricane Katrina-related decedents. In late 2006, Dr. Minyard brought together a small group of local community business leaders and prominent citizens to assist him in achieving the goal of creating a permanent memorial in New Orleans, Louisiana to honor the victims of Hurricane Katrina as well as building a mausoleum to lay to rest the unclaimed
and unidentified victims of the Hurricane.
The New Orleans Katrina Memorial Corporation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was formed and the members of the Board of Directors began collaborating with Matthews International Corporation, the world leader in memorial and mausoleum design, to construct the memorial that Dr. Minyard envisioned.

Disaster Date: 08/29/2005 Date of dedication: 08/29/2008 Memorial Sponsors: The City of New Orleans and LSU Hospitals Disaster Type: Natural Relevant Website: [Web Link] Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

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